The Viridian Solar Energy Group has selected a former Wheaton Glass property in Mays Landing, Hamilton, New Jersey, as the site of a solar panel assembly and manufacturing plant that would, when fully…
The Viridian Solar Energy Group has selected a former Wheaton Glass property in Mays Landing, Hamilton, New Jersey, as the site of a solar panel assembly and manufacturing plant that would, when fully staffed, employ 175. If completed, the project would become the first solar panel manufacturing facility in the area. The proposal was a surprise to municipal officials because the company and its representatives had worked mostly with Atlantic County economic development representatives, but was welcome news after months of economic gloom that peaked earlier this month when 20% of the municipal work force was laid off. Virdian Solar Energy Group LLC is a group of international investors that specialize in solar energy and development. The Mays Landing site would be the first manufacturing facility for the group and, at first, would focus more on assembling the specialized parts into panels for large arrays. The company is based in Texas and North Carolina, but selected New Jersey as the plant“s site because of the economic incentives for renewable energy. Solar panels would not be necessarily made from scratch at the site plans call for manufacturing metal fixtures on site but would be assembled at the facility. The panels would then be used for Viridian“s projects and contracts. In addition to the manufacturing facility, Viridian plans to develop solar arrays with municipalities and counties during the next five years to generate 120 megawatts of energy – enough energy for 60,000 homes. The company plans to install up 68 megawatts in Atlantic County alone by 2017 and is exploring profit sharing agreements.